Monday, July 19, 2010

Hosni's Endowment to Grow?

Egyptian diplomats are negotiating the terms of a possible endowment fund for US economic aid that, if passed by the US Congress this year, could give Egypt access to hundreds of millions of American aid dollars with little to no legislative oversight.

While the terms of such an endowment appear to be far from final, any such deal could afford Egypt far more control over the terms of its aid than any other US aid recipient.

The proposal for what many here are already calling “Mubarak’s trust fund.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hinted that foreign aid would change when she spoke from the Peter G. Peterson Institue. Giving Mubarak a private economic fund reeks. He'll still get $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military aid.